The goblin turned to look at TJ and said, “Oh, not to be trusted, are we? Who the land beside the Lake of Dreams they promised to give us, and then their mind they changed? Hmm? Who the crafts and other pretty things of the Bonecrusher clan they promised to buy, and then on pain of death just took them? Hmm? Who the devious ones are, hmm? Not the Bonecrushers, for sure that is.” He then turned and stared directly at Simon. “The truth about who is the more devious, your people know, don’t they? Eh?”
Simon looked ready to speak, but TJ interrupted. “Yeah, well, it’s true those events were unfortunate. But none of us had a hand in them. You should have no quarrel with us. Speak your piece and then be gone.”
“Oh, speak my piece, eh? Well, here is the peace I am speaking. Danger in these woods there is. Greater danger than the Bonecrusher clan has ever seen. Greater danger than the Bonecrusher clan ever wants to see. If on this path you continue, an unfortunate doom you will meet. But if that doom you meet and overcome, earn the friendship of the Bonecrusher clan you will, as well as any shinies we may have.” The goblin began cackling madly but after several seconds fell into a coughing fit. Waving, he stepped back into the shadows of the bushes.
“Wait! Can’t you tell us anything more?” asked Chuck. But by that point the creature was completely hidden from view.
A moment later the robed figure was back, but this time he wore a judge’s armband rather than the goblin’s mask. He looked blankly at the group and said, “The goblin has disappeared.” His transition from goblin to game official indicated that this particular NPC was no longer in play for their party.
The six looked at each other briefly before Allison said with a sigh, “Well, that was ominous, but not terribly informative. I guess we just keep moving and see what happens?”
Chuck looked at her and said, “Oh no, I don’t think we’re quite through here yet.” He approached the judge and showed him one of the skill chits attached to his carabiner. “I search the area, particularly the bushes where he had been hiding.”
The judge smiled and said, “Aha. Well, as it happens, with that many ranks, in your search you spot something glinting on the ground. Upon closer inspection, you find this. You’re lucky—we hadn’t really expected anyone to be able to spot that. Assists wouldn’t have helped.” Looking at TJ, the judge said, “Galphalon’s a wizard, right?” At TJ’s nod, he handed a laminated three-by-five note card and a purple armband to Chuck, then concluded with, “There is nothing else for you to see here. It’s time to move on.” This was a none-too-subtle hint that they should be out of sight before the next group came behind so as not to ruin the experience for them.
Chuck gave the note card a quick glance and emitted a low whistle. “Good stuff, folks. Let’s get moving, and everyone can take a look at it on the way.” He shot a jealous glance at Allison. “You are one lucky little newbie. Wait till you see what you get to play with!” He handed her the armband and said, “Put that on right away.” Despite the confused look on her face, she did as he instructed.
Stu gave the card only a brief glance before resuming his position as scout, but he was grinning when he handed it to TJ.
As TJ read over the card, he said, “Whoa, yeah. Chuckles was right about this one. Check this thing out.” He handed it to Allison.
“What’s it say?” Jimmy called out from behind. He had resumed his position as rear guard and was anxiously looking into the trees, sword still at the ready. The encounter with the goblin hadn’t taken very long, so there could very well be an ambush set up ahead. “I want to know what it is too!”
Allison read the card aloud. “‘Ring of Ancient Triumph. One of the magical implements created during the third age of the Ny’Zull dynasty by the master dwarven craftsman Dylan Bloodforge.’ Good grief, there is a lot of exposition here. How are we supposed to know all that?”
TJ answered, “That’s why he asked if I was a wizard, as opposed to some other spellcaster, like a mage or a sorcerer. It is assumed that as part of my studies I have learned all sorts of history about magic from past ages. If I hadn’t been here, he would have given us a different card, which wouldn’t have included any of the backstory and might not have even told us anything about the ring’s power. But keep reading—you haven’t gotten to the good part.
She continued: “‘This ring was crafted for the High Autarch of the Ny’Zull’s religion and can only be worn by one who channels divine power.’ I guess that’s me, right?”
TJ nodded and winked.
“‘As the ultimate conduit between the Heavens and the priesthood, the High Autarch was expected to manifest the gods’ power for all the people to see. When the Ny’Zull pantheon began to wane during the Godswar, the High Autarch commissioned this ring to be made as a way to bolster his weakening power. The wearer of this ring is granted the following abilities:
“‘One, five extra spellcasts each day, of any spell rank.’ Whoa. That doubles the number of spells I’ve got. I bet I won’t be running out of those heals on you after all, will I?
“‘Two, the power of the ring encases the wearer in a magical shell that reduces the effectiveness of enemy weapons, mundane and magical. This effectively increases the wearer’s armor rating by six points and negates any magical effects projected by enemy weapons.’ That sounds cool enough.
“‘Three, the ring radiates an aura of majesty that influences the way others see the wearer. All reactions will be shifted positively by one tier, and all creatures of rank three or lower are awed by the bearer—they will defend themselves if provoked, but will not attack of their own volition.’ Now that is cool. Any of you guys lower than rank four? If so, you may begin bowing down in front of me now.” She turned a pirouette and dipped into a deep curtsy.
“Nope, sorry, Allison,” Simon said with a chuckle. “None of us are threes. But Chuck wasn’t kidding. That ring has no business being in the hands of a newbie. They must have figured that if someone in the party had sufficient search skill to find it, anyone capable of wearing it would also be a pretty high level. That’s the sort of thing you’ll probably never see again in-game. None of us have anything that rivals it in power. Unless you do, Stu.”
“Nope, not me. Just my trusty bow.”
Chuck let out a laugh. “You know what this means, Allison, don’t you?”
“What?”
“You’re going to have to keep coming back to play.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because if word gets out that an item like that went to a first-timer who never came back, you’re going to have people egging your house for years to come.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see. This is turning out to be more fun than I expected.”
The snap of a twig was the only warning they had before all hell broke loose.
CHAPTER 5
It began with a flight of arrows from the bushes to the left of the path. Everyone knew that the missiles—identical to the ones Stu carried, with large padded heads—were unlikely to actually hurt anyone, but the effect was no less startling.
A guttural voice shouted, “Arrows, two points!” and Jimmy and Chuck, both of whom had been hit, called back, “Arrow hit, minus two points.” Three other arrows missed their mark, sailing harmlessly over Allison’s and TJ’s heads. The six friends hastily retreated behind some trees, and a second round of arrows bounced off their cover.
The voice called out again. “Surrender, or die painfully!”
Allison looked over at the others and shrugged. Peeking her head out from behind the tree, she replied, “And what happens if we surrender?”